I WRITE regarding the impending shutdown and subsequent demolition of Walton hospital.

Once the hospital is demolished a mental health unit is to be built on that land. It will house paranoid schizophrenics, schizophrenics and dementia patients.

On Monday the 29th of March a meeting was held at St John’s church on Rice Lane,Walton. In attendance were Anne O'Byrne and Richard McLinden (Labour coucillors as well as residents) and a chap from Mersey care NHS Trust as well as Warbreck Vision.

It seems 40% of patients will be local and the remaining 60% will come from Merseyside which, as we know, covers a large area.

When asked about security at the hospital we were told that there would be 24 hour security there but this would be mainly in the form of CCTV.

I have a problem in that we have a unit in this proposed hospital which will house a number of people but they will not be policed as such and to my knowledge they will be free to roam up and down Rice Lane.

Walton has one of the most densely populated areas in the country.

Why build this mental hospital there?

I just know that the value of my house will plummet, something I'm none too happy about. I also fear for the community as a whole.

Build this hospital elsewhere, ie out in the sticks, not in a community as big as Walton.

George Anderson, Walton

Is it an insult?

NOW we know what was actually written in MP Denis Knowles' blog site (reported in "ECHO" 29/3) we can make our own informed judgement.

I do not accept that the term "limp-wristed" is exclusively and definitively synonymous with "homosexual". I would, however, suggest that anyone who considers the term "homosexual" to be an insult must also concede that as a direct consequence of this statement they must accept that to be considered as an insult, there must be "something wrong" with actually being a homosexual.

Roget's Thesaurus is an excellent source, and the order of definitions (2009 Edition) is significant.

1. weak

2. effeminate (esp. of a man)

3. homosexual

I might also offer the definitions "liberal minded" and even "laissez-faire" to the above, and there are countless examples I could cite of the term being used in this context.

I can see no good reason for denying Cllr Knowles the right to express an opinion on his own blog site. The term can be described as "disparaging" (Roget acknowledges this) BUT it is not necessarily and exclusively an "insulting" term!

Paul McDermott

No elected PMs

IN HIS letter (April 3rd) Danny Dougherty scathingly refers to Gordon Brown as our " unelected Prime Minister". ECHO columnist Mr Joseph Riley, in his paranoiac hatred of Mr Brown, also refers to him as this.

Could either of these two constitutional experts let us readers have a list of British prime ministers who "were" elected to this office?

Charles McCoy, L7

Wasted money

I WRITE with regard to the ‘FiReControl’ project, the plan to replace the local fire service ‘999’ emergency control rooms with nine Regional Control Centres, including one for the North West based in Warrington.

This Government IT project has recently been the subject of a National Audit Office report, which revealed that it is expected to cost £240m more than maintaining the local control rooms.

It also disclosed that external assessments and reviews of ‘FiReControl’ have cast doubt not only on the current IT completion date of May 2011, but also the capacity and capability of the both the Government and its IT contractor to complete the project successfully.

The cost of ‘FiReControl’ now stands at £423m, four times its original estimate. Any further delays to a project already four years behind schedule would see it cheaper to cancel than to continue with.

Parliamentary answers have disclosed that up to November 2009, £7,400,000 had been spent on the project in the North West alone, with the largely empty Warrington building costing £155,000 per month to maintain.

The cost of staff working on the project will rise to £55.1m by the end of 2013, while the amount spent on consultants will total just under £50m by the close of 2012.

It’s clear that ‘FiReControl’ is failing badly and, at a time when we are told public finances are under ever increasing strain, at great cost to the public purse. The money that is being spent would be better invested in the current control rooms, where the government admit the staffs do an ‘excellent’ job. This would maintain the high standard of service at a much cheaper cost and in the process continue to provide local employment opportunities for local people.

Tim Gerrard, Halewood

Ruled by Brussels

FRANK FIELD (ECHO April 3) asks "would a hung parliament be the best result ?"

Will it make an iota of difference ? We are no longer governed by Westminster.

ŠŠ We are governed by Brussels: they play the tune and our hapless, overpaid puppets dance to it.

ŠŠ In my opinion a "hanged" parliament would be the best result.

James, full name and address supplied

Good for the economy

IT REMAINS a mystery to me how Gordon Brown has had accolades from the world press and yet still comes under attack from our own media.

His efforts have made the difference during the recession, preventing unemployment, business failures and home repossessions from hitting the horrific levels seen in the previous downturn of the early 1990s. The Prime Minister has already established himself on the world stage as a leader on such matters as World Hunger and Climate Change. We should gather momentum from those successes and allow him to lead by example and with courage.

Under his continued leadership we could not only come through this recession but establish a set of rules and guidelines that will set an example for the rest of the international community.

The Labour Party has already proved it is not afraid to assist manufacturing, intervene in economic management when necessary and has recognised the role it has to play in shaping the economy of the future.

John Nelson, Fazakerley

REGARDING the Star Wars in Concert review in the ECHO, (March 10) the only thing your reviewer was right about was the Arena was barely half full, which was a shame because it was the most fantastic performance.

The clips from the films and the score complimented each other impeccably. The music was second to none and all credit goes to the musicians and to Anthony Daniels for making it such memorable evening. Definitely 10/10.